Joint for twine



Aug 5 1952 G. N. WILLIS JOINT FOR TWINE Filed April 17, 1251 INVENTOR.

/ ?M zf/fr Mg/M 'type of cordage.

Patented Aug. 5, 1952 STATA-Es l oFFlcE* '1; .IQINT'FORTWINE GlrantNLWills,l Bristol, Conn., assignorgtoPlym-l outh 'C'ordag'e'Company, Plymouth, Mass'.,y a corporation of'Massachusettsj Applicatiannpril 17, 1951, serial Np. 221,485

Vv This invention comp ses a new and improved joint for securing together two ends' of twine or othercordage forftransmitting straight line tension betweenthe parts leading from the joint. It is intended"toreplaceljoints which have hitherto customarily been made by tying two ends of twine together in- Iaknot. Y y

V The invention is -herfeindescribed as remployed in connection-'with"bindertwine, but it is not limited in its application to this or to any specific VHeretofore the practice haveV been to join the ends of binder twine by means of the vconventional binderknot, i It has-'long been known', however, that suchfa knot is'not-reliable for much more than about 5.0% lo'fthe strengthpossessed by the twine in which the'knot is made, the variations in actual knot efficiency depending on such-'2facto'rsfasthelkind offibre, size of twine, amount of twist, and lubrication. Other types of knots, such asthe weavers knot, may have 'a slightly vhigherfstrengthefficiency but still result in a outside fibres failrst, and thenA the inside fibres fail'as Vthe load 'is transferredto them; but at no time do`all of the bres share equally in the total load.v f

It has of course'been long appreciated that a great saving in twine might be elected by some joint'havingl 'a strength at breakage that would be closer to the breakage strength of the twinepreferably substantially equal to it. Higher joint strength Would make it possible to use smaller twine having greater footage per pound, or permit making a heavier bale if twine of the same size were used.

Baier twine, as ordinarily known in the cordage industry, is a single ply yarn of hard libre running about 220 feet to the pound, and having a diameter of about M3". In this specification the term twine is used as meaning specifically baler twine and to typify all other types of cordage in which the improved joint is applicable.

A principal industrial use of baler twine is in baling hay and in packaging other commodities where the ends of each separate band about the bale must be joined together to withstand the eY claims. (c1. 51-142i resilientexpansion voi? the Yfreshly compressed bale', and -Yto -hold'against subsequent stress in handling andtransportation. VUsually the baling press maintains suiclent compression or constriction of each new bale to permit slack at the ends of its bands for themaking o f knots. This slack disappears`- lby expansion of the baleupon release from the press and immediately subjects the bands of twineY to severe tension. I

The present invention constitutes a satisfactory and efficient solutionof-the problem which" has plagued the industry for a great many years, and provides as-'a substitute for suchknots a novel type of joint ortiethatdevelops substantially the full strength ofthe twine.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a type of` joint which may be made quickly by persons of ordinarys'kill with tools and devices of simple and inexpensive character, and' a joint that will providefthe' other benefitswhich attend the procedure `andstru'cture herein disclosed.vv

Going more into detail, `the joint of this invention comprises in combination with the two end parts of twinevvhich arev to be joined, arranged in overlapping relation and extending thence in oppositey directions,' a short vcoil of continuous stiiy bendablewire" having spaced turns encircling and yconst'ricting the Yoverlapping end parts of the twine but adaptedto yield slightly with the twine'' whenthelatterl is Yelongated under lengthwise strain. 'All of the fibres are comparatively parallel'to each other. As load is vapplied, the highly stressed libres are permitted to slip slightly with .respect to the other fibres, thereby transferringpart'of the ,load to the other iibres. It is this equalizing action, whereby all ofy the fibres are permittedto share in the total 1oad,"wh1chgivesjthe wire tie yits relativen high by each of the spirals is additive.

The end loops on the wire tie are shown as close wound and are included for linish and to avoid protruding sharp ends; they contribute to the strength of the tie, but its strength comes principally from the snubbing action of the center turns. As the wire is applied to the twine bundle, the twine nbres are forced to assume a spiral deformation, thus providing a snubbing action as load is applied.

In dealing with binder twine in which the close-wound turns of the clip have an external diameter of about 1A, the two groups of closewound turns may be separated by an intermediate spiral portion Avapproximately lin length, or about four times the external diameter of the close-wound turns. In such a joint it is contemplated that soft steel wire about 0.06" will -be employed. In repeated tests suchV a joint has been shown to possess in tension 90% of Vthe ultimate strength of the twineitself.

I1 the coils are to be applied by machinery,

they preferably will be formed as they are being applied from a supply of wire held in `a reel. 'Ihe machine, taking the wire from the reel, will form the coil around the overlapped ends of the twine, cut it oi from the supply, and apply to it the necessary fconstricting,pressure and shape to .produce the yj0int. The Aconstriction is accomplished by diametrica-l squeezing `operation which reduces the l,coil to a smaller helicaldiameter and so, by c-onstrictive indentation of the twine mass from all'directions,clampsthe brous mass in engagement withinthe turns of the coil.

Theseand'other features of the invention will be best understoodfand appreciatedv from the following description' -of -a preferred embodiment thereof, selected fior lpurposes of illustration and shownin the :accompanying drawings in which:

Figs. 51 Vand '2 show thejoi-nt in twine Vof two different sizes, under1untensioned conditions, and

Fig. 3 shows the joint jot FigfZ under conditions ofsevere'tension. Y s l which roughly approximates the diameter of the L turns. The intermediate portion vI2 is about 1" in length and terminates atleach end in a pair of close-wo-undturns I3 and I4. n

FigsrfZ andI -3. illustrate a joint lof the same character-formed in v-twine of somewhat larger diameter.,t I-n this instance the ends 20 and 2| are brought into overlapping relation and the wire forming'rthe joint isformed with an interymediate spiral'portion 22 'with turns substantially separated, .and two end portions 23 and 24 comprising a pair of close-wound turns.

By comparin'grFigs. 2I and 3 the action of the joint under stress will'be apparent. The intermediate portion 22 forces the twine bres to as- `of secondary importance.

sume a spiral deformation but is permitted to elongate slightly with the enclosed fibre of the twine thus providing a snubbing action whereas the engagement of the close-wound turns 23 and 24 is not disturbed. The dot and dash lines between the two gures indicate in somewhat exaggerated form the elongation occurring in the joint itself.

The direction of twistin the coil l 2 is a matter While a right hand twistis shown in the drawings it will be apparent that a coil formed with a left hand twist would be equally eieotive.

Having .thus .disclosed my invention and described in detail-embodiments thereof, I claim as new and desire -to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A twine joint for transmitting straight line tension, Lcomprising two end parts of twine which are to be joined, arranged in overlapping relationand extending thence in opposite directions, a coil of;` .continuous stiiily-fbendable wire having atjeachend a grou-p -of close-wound turns encircling aand constrictingy overlapping portions .of bothparts of -thetwine and connected by an intermediate spiral portion; having its adjacent turns separated by a pitch Aat least as great as the diameter of the close-wound turns, vwhereby the twine fibres :of overlapped parts areV forced to assume a spiral deformation'and permitted to elongate slightly with the spiral portion of the coil under lengthwise tension.

21 A twine joint for transmitting .straight line tension, comprising withtwo end parts of twine which .arezto vbe. joined, :arranged in overlapping relationpand extending. thence in opposite directions, ;and a coil of continuous stiiily bendable wirefhaving at each end lagroup `oi close-wound turns encircling and ,constricting the overlapping yend parts ofthe twine and `anintermediate spiral portion having spacedturns vencircling the twine Yin snubbing engagement i and, forcing the twine `iibres to assume a spiral deformation but adapted GRANT N. WILLIS.

No references cited. 

